US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is considering using the word “genocide” to describe Myanmar’s crimes against the Rohingya last year, according to a leaked draft excerpt from a statement obtained by POLITICO days before Pompeo is expected to give a speech about his department’s investigation of the atrocities.
The passage in which Pompeo presents his conclusion about how to characterize Myanmar’s actions contains the bracketed phrase “hold for determination”. It is not clear whether this excerpt is from Pompeo’s upcoming speech or from another statement the secretary plans to make.
There has been intense debate within the Trump administration over whether to accuse Myanmar of genocide – defined as a premeditated effort to wipe out some or all of a specific ethnic or religious group – because doing so could require the US to punish Myanmar, a country in which President Donald Trump has shown little interest.
Pompeo’s speech will come just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the expulsion of around 700,000 Rohingya from Myanmar into Bangladesh, which began on Aug. 25, 2017. Myanmar troops have also been accused of murdering thousands of civilians, including babies, raping women, and torching homes under the guise of counterinsurgency operations.
Under the UN genocide convention, to which the US is a party, signatories must “undertake to prevent and to punish” countries found guilty of the crime of genocide as it is defined under international law. Until now, the State Department has only used the term “ethnic cleansing”, which carries little weight under international law.
The debate over whether Secretary Pompeo should use the term “genocide” against Myanmar is being waged by US ambassador-at-large for religious freedom Sam Brownback and the State Department’s human rights bureau on one hand and the department’s legal division and East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau on the other. The East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau is concerned that labeling Myanmar a genocidal country could harm its relationship with the United States, while the legal division says the label “genocide” cannot be used unless Myanmar’s intent to destroy the Rohingya in whole or in part has been established.
A report commissioned by the State Department and compiled by 18 investigators who interviewed over 1,000 Rohingya refugees may answer the question of intent.
Another section from the leaked draft excerpt says: “In the months prior to the August attacks, security forces detained men and abducted women. Rohingya were subject to restrictions on freedom of movement, and in some cases the military removed fences and confiscated farming tools, knives and other objects – anything that could be used for self-defense. A few refugees reported that authorities instructed villagers from other ethnic groups to leave the area prior to the attacks.”
It is not yet clear whether the department will release the full report.
Even if Pompeo does not accuse Myanmar of genocide, he is expected to use the term “crimes against humanity” and to call on the Myanmar government to “cease denying that atrocities occurred”, to remove all military commanders involved in the crackdown, and to amend the constitution to place the military under civilian control.
To date, the United States has lagged behind its allies in responding to the atrocities committed against the Rohingya. Only one Myanmar military official has been targeted by American sanctions, while seven have been sanctioned by the EU and Canada. Human rights groups have expressed a desire to see new penalties introduced during Pompeo’s upcoming speech.
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